Pinoy food with style at Mesa Filipino Moderne

Last January when I was chaperoning my sister who was then on vacation from the US for nearly a whole month, I had the chance to try this sleek and elegant restaurant called Mesa Filipino Moderne. My sister's friend who we met at Robinsons Magnolia took us there. What a good choice it turned out because we loved just about everything we ordered and honestly, I was surprised 

that the food was not as expensive as I expected. 

Our orders:

Chicken binakol, P260. I hadn't eaten this delicious soup dish that originated from the Visayas region before and was glad to finally try it. It's basically tinola, only it's cooked in coconut water and added with coconut meat, giving the soup a sweetish flavor. A welcome change from the usual chicken tinola.

Laing two ways, P170. I thought it was cool to have this Bicolano dish served two ways but there's not really much difference - the other's saucy while the other's a bit dry. I read in another blog that one of these "two ways" was crispy but it wasn't like that at all when we ate. Anyway, both are topped with adobo flakes which is the one that's a bit crunchy.

Binagoongan baboy ni Kaka, P225.  Whoever Kaka is, I want to thank him for creating this savory dish. I loved that this wasn't all meat but accompanied with lots of veggies. The pork, though bathed in bagoong (shrimp paste), wasn't too salty. This was easily my favorite among our orders.

Baby squids in own ink, P265. I love squids whatever way it's cooked - be it fried calamares-style or ginataan (with coconut milk) or yes, adobo like this one. I loved that Mesa's version is homestyle - the way mom would cook it - no frills but certainly delicious!

Kapeng barako jelly with ice cream, P80. When I dine out, I always look for desserts that are not too rich and sweet so I was happy that there's coffee turned into dessert at Mesa. There's a scoop of ice cream, I know, but I only ate a little of it. Haha!

                          
                         Green mango shake, P80. My sister's favorite drink when we dine out.

       

   Interiors - notice the elegant, Filipino-themed setting

Mesa Filipino Moderne lives up to its name. Here, you can have the dishes we Pinoys have grown up with but served beautifully and with a twist (for some of the dishes). It's like having something old in a new and different way. The taste, is course as crucial as the aesthetic factor and Mesa is successful both ways. Couple that with an elegant and relaxing ambiance and you have the perfect restaurant to bring family and friends. As I've mentioned, I was surprised about the food prices 'coz I was expecting it to be steep but we only paid P1,200. for all our orders (the ones in pictures plus three cups of rice at P40. each). Try Mesa Filipino Moderne if you haven't, folks and 

enjoy the food and ambiance as we did. 

Happy eating!